In a network-type game system, a plurality of game devices installed in a venue (a game arcade) is connected to a server device residing on a network. In such a game system, there is known a technique in which, when a player performs a play at a game device, game results such as scores are obtained by the server device, and the server device posts score rankings on the Internet.
There is also known a technique in which a portable terminal (terminal device) functions as a game terminal, and such a portable terminal is used to display ranking data stored in a server device. Examples of such known techniques will be described below.
In a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-143566, a game is played using a portable terminal, and rankings are displayed during a download waiting time.
Another technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-38855 allows a server device to create a list of score rankings in a network game. The list is posted, for example, on a wireless communication network for portable terminals, and ranking data is transmitted from a server device. Examples of ranking data include a first-player-to-clear-a-stage ranking, a score ranking, etc.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-93746, a portable phone is shown as an example of a portable terminal in a ranking service providing system. In this system, a player is able to receive information on the player's own ranking.
Thus, in a conventional network-type game system, a player is able to know, using a portable terminal, score rankings of highly skilled players and the player's own ranking.
An advantage provided in a network-type game system is that a plurality of players is allowed to participate in a game play and to compete with one another in scores regardless of time and place. The rankings posted, however, include ranking data of a plurality of players who participate in a game, but they do not include those of particular players. Therefore, it is not possible for a player to compare the player's own score with, for example, scores of other players ranked about the same in overall ranking or scores of a particular player, such as a friend of the player.